i could. emergency traffic, firefighter down. >> reporter: it was that quick action that was credited in helping save frank's life. because it got the paramedics there quickly. he had no pulse. he wasn't breathing. frank suffered what doctors call sudden death. >> his coworkers definitely saved his life. if this happened alone at home, they wouldn't have him back to work. >> reporter: one was robert gutierrez who doesn't have the strength to speak about the life saving effort. >> he can't talk about the camera because it's still raw for him and everybody else. >> we do it every day in the city for the citizens. but when it's one of your own, you can detach for a little bit, get the job done. but i think it has come back and hit some of them pretty hard. >> reporter: they won't take credit for saving their brother's life. others might say they had a little help. >> the fact he was at work today was the angel on his shoulder.

>> we in our hearts know maybe it's because it happened in a church, near a church that had somebody to do with it. we felt like god was with us yesterday. >> reporter: they say frank ryan was always the first one in to battle the flames, a type of guy you wanted next to you during a big firefight. the cause and origin of that fire are still under investigation. we're live in san jose. nbc bay area news. tense moments on the peninsula today. a construction crew ruptured a gas line. pg & e worked to stop the leak. several areas had to be evacuated. as of right now, the gas line has been capped, but repairs are still underway. no reports of injuries. a fight is looming from the santa clara water district. they'll sue to get the district's tax measure booted off the november ballot. with measure b, the district is asking south bay voters to continue paying a yearly partial

tax of $54 per household. the district says it's needed for flood control and dam upgrades. but there's a hitch. the measure was two words too long for the ballot so the board called an urgent meeting to fix it. the taxpayers claims that hasty meeting violated the state's sunshine law because they failed to post the agenda on the website more than 24 hours ahead of time. so a clerical error might jeopardize a $548 million partial tax measure. we want to update you on the pleasantton woman. trying to identify a body found three months ago in a trash can. they released a sketch of the victim back in june. but so far it's generated no leads. federal investigators are now searching fingerprint and dental records to identify the woman. investigatorers say the woman was likely in her 20s and either asian or hispanic.

the death is being investigated as a homicide, but so far no cause of death because the body has been so badly decomposed. a 7.6 magnitude earthquake rumbled off the eastern coast of the philippines today destroying roads and bridges while sending people rushing to higher ground. so far one person has been reported dead. the usgs tells us the quake produced a very small tsunami, just one inch. this was a rare event. the first time in almost 20 years the philippines have seen a quake of that magnitude originating from that fault. it's the same type of fault off japan, alaska, oregon, and washington state. >> these types of faults are capable of producing the eight to nine events. in california we're split because of the plate boundary we are here along the coast of california. and these -- generally we have up to a magnitude eight is our

largest event. that's the 1906 type of events. >> the usgs says there's a 63% chance the bay area will magnitude a 6.7 quake within the next 25 to 30 years. well, it is getaway day. the three-day labor day weekend for a lot of us is on. you can see it doesn't look too bad out there. the dumbarton bridge is open. but it will be closing soon to the retrofitting work can be done. stephanie tran is there more with more on that escape. >> reporter: according to aaa there will be millions traveling this weekend. 3.4% increase from last year. in addition to the congestion here towards the bay bridge, you can see the traffic building up. it's really stop and go. we've always seen a lot of chp

officers. in less than an hour, chp does begin its maximum enforcement and says there are particular concerns because of college football parties like stanford versus san jose state tonight. it's a big weekend for college football. which means plenty of parties and also police. because chp will be out in full force for this labor day weekend. >> we want you to root on for your time. if you are going to be driving, designated driver. that's nondrinking. >> reporter: officer mike ferguson says you've heard that before but there's more urgency after last year's weekend resulted in 29 deaths. >> we've had two fatalities so far this month in this area alone people weren't wearing their seat belts and were ejected from cars. obviously those people could be alive today and that is very tragic. >> reporter: and remind with more drivers on the road.

aaa estimate 2.9 million people will travel this weekend. despite higher gas prices. >> up to 30%, 40% higher than last year, but we still haven't reached that $5 threshold that we did in 2008. so psychologically it's still affordable. >> reporter: aaa numbers shows the average is up all over the bay area. in san jose $4.19 from $3.85 stam time last year. high gas prices or not, this couple from the central valley says coming here has become a labor day tradition. >> we're here for three days. we come down here to have some clam chowder and hopefully the seals are still out. beautiful. so we'll take it. >> reporter: nutrition to all the traffic on the roadways, aaa says there's going to be more air travel in california this weekend. and about 6% to 7% increase this

year from last year. coming up tonight at 6:00, we'll talk about how more people are spending their labor day weekend this year. for now, live in san jose, stephanie chaung, nbc bay area news. marine experts are relieved. today they so no signs of the wayward dolphins who had been spotted in the creek. the bottle nosed dolphins were first spotted wednesday night and experts had worried they had spent too much time in the water. today no signs of the mammals. presumably they've headed back out to the ocean on their own. there are now five confirmed deaths in louisiana and mississippi being blamed on hurricane isaac. today crews strategically released water being held by dams and levees in hopes of trying to ease the pressure there. nbc's jay gray is there. mitt romney there today, jay.

>> reporter: you're absolutely right. look. today for the first time in a long time, as long as we can remember, no rain today. and even patches of sun which is something this city needs to light up what's left after isaac and what it's going to take to recover here. the storm may be gone, but evidence of isaac's fury is still scattered across the gulf coast. >> we are now fully in the cleanup and recovery phase of this storm in the city of new orleans. the bell has not rung on this storm. and it won't ring until we're finished. >> reporter: and just like the slow-moving storm, the cleanup here is going to take some time. after two straight days of driving rains, flood waters still fill some of the hardest hit neighborhoods. >> i'll continue to see localized flooding challenges because we have high levels in the rivers and bayous and frankly the water continues to accumulate from the rain.

>> reporter: power crews are just now beginning work to get close to a million customers back online. >> the freezer held for two days. >> reporter: for survivors, recovery has become an all too familiar fight. >> i've been through it. you pick up the pieces and move on. >> reporter: this afternoon a day after accepting his party's nomination, presidential hopeful mitt romney toured the devastation. president obama will visit monday on the eve of his party's national convention. though the focus of both trips is far from political. >> we're not talking politics. it's not the right time to do that. we're solely focused on recovery efforts. >> reporter: and there are early signs that recovery is on the way. >> it'll be back to normal. it may take a week or two, but it is what it is. it's new orleans. >> reporter: though the task here is big and will be anything but easy. now, the curfew's been lifted here and businesses are

reopening as power is restored. the focus now clearly on what it's going to take to recover. live in new orleans, i'm jay gray, nbc bay area news. and good afternoon. i'm jeff ranieri in the weather center. a major cooldown today. temperatures dropping 10 to 15 degrees. let's get a look. 60 in san mateo. we're going to talk about these up and down temperatures that will eventually clear some of these travel delays with our fog. right now the worst delays at san francisco with three hours. >> thank you, jeff. charlotte bound, the lights went out on the republican convention. now the democrats are waiting for their turn in the spotlight. we'll have more reaction to the unique performance by clint eastwood. also a hometown hero is honored. we are live in san jose at a special football game that's about to kickoff. that story is next.

across the country and across the bay area, football season kicks off tonight for college and high school. perhaps the most emotional game will be in san jose. leland high school will honor pat tillman. the classic kickoff will start off in two hours. tillman was a star there about 20 years ago. what's the plan tonight? >> reporter: well, they're getting ready while the jv is playing the game right now. they're getting ready for tonight's special game. the first ever pat tillman legacy classic game. this game will become an annual tradition. a game in which the school will honor pat tillman who played football here, went on to play at arizona state and then on to the nfl. became a national hero when he traded in his nhl uniform for a u.s. army ranger one after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. he was killed after a tragic incident of friendly fire in 2004.

eight years later he's named at the every opening season game. leland high school wants to make sure the students never forget his life and legacy. >> everything that we're doing here is literally an uplifting, story telling celebration of his life. we're trying to key in on the fact that pat's a hero to us. because of the way he lived, not the way he died. >> reporter: during the pregame ceremonie ceremonies, they'll show a brief video of pat tillman and honor his mother mary on the football field. the game starts at 7:00 tonight. live at leland high school in san jose, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, george. since september 11th 2001, more than 2 million service members have fought in iraq and afghanistan. those numbers according to the white house. today president obama signs an executive order to improve access to mental health services

for veterans. service members and their families. the president also met with troops in texas. that comes on the second anniversary of the end of the war in iraq. more than 4,000 american troops died in that war. decision 2012. his meeting in texas comes as the campaign now shifts to charlotte with republicans still trying to spin clint eastwood's performance at the rnc, the democrats are now gearing up for their own show. steve handelsman moved from tampa to charlotte and has a preview of the preps. >> reporter: before splitting up to campaign, mitt romney and paul ryan put a positive spin. >> coming out of tampa, we have given our fellow countrymen a very clear choice. >> you listened to the last guy running for president. he laid out what he was going to do. he's unable to do it. it's time to give someone new a chance. >> reporter: in his speech last night, romney did not lay out

specifics. >> i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. >> reporter: a lot of buzz today is not about the romney speech, it's about the odd chat by clint eastwood with invisible obama. viewers saw that instead of moving tributes to romney. >> what happened with clint eastwood will not decide the outcome of this campaign, but it's a mistake by the romney campaign. >> reporter: today romney changed his schedule to visit louisiana. through a presidential style tour from the hurricane isaac flood zone. >> our hearts are obviously with all the folks who are down in louisiana and the gulf coast. >> reporter: president obama tours isaac damage monday. today he was in texas reminding voters he kept a promise he made

august 31st, 2010. >> that night i told american people that all our troops would be out of iraq by the end of the following year. >> reporter: next week, it's the president's turn in the convention spotlight. the time warner arena in charlotte is almost ready. >> that was steve handelsman reporting from charlotte. some positive news that might signal the economy is improving, consumer spending posted the biggest rise in five months. this from the numbers released in the commerce department. economists warned that even though the spending is up, many consumers are still afraid to open their wallets because of high gas prices, the upcoming election, and a looming fiscal cliff. 33 million people are expected to travel this holiday weekend, but it makes more sense to do it after the weekend if you can wait. after labor day travel has become not only pleasurable but affordable. it's a great time to get away. temperatures are still nice, crowds are smaller.

here's the catch. plenty of great bargains. for example, hotels in london are 60% cheaper than they were during the olympics. here's another one. luxury hotels in hawaii are charging 40% less than they were just a week ago. all right. we might have to go somewhere, jeff. it was just darn cold today. >> it was. a lot of spots had trouble even getting out of the 60s. it's all because of the fog and that strong westerly wind. we do have a 30 degree temperature jump in the seven-day forecast. hold on, folks. that fog shrouding in san francisco. that's where we're tracking three hour delays. we could see delays upwards of an hour tonight in oakland. san jose about 15 minutes. a lot of blue sky in the south bay. it's all about the westerly wind. when you have it going this strong. you're not going to get that fog budging and we didn't have that happen for today. so with that said, most of our

numbers about 15 degrees below average here. just 68 in napa, 65 in livermore and 67 in san jose. let's take you out to the live sky camera network. feeling like fall here 234 the bay area. i promise you there were a few rays of sunshine here out in downtown san francisco. but it isn't going to last long. let's get a look at the latest weather pattern. we have this trough of low pressure. it's sitting just on top of us. it's increasing the marine layer about 2,000 feet. if you want that sun back and heat back, it's going to kick out of here through saturday night. here comes high pressure. labor day is going to be getting hot as we previewed earlier. a 20 degree to 30 degree jump. a lot to get through saturday. that's more of a traditional day for us. that'll mean fog at the coastline. also somewhere from 60s to 70s. then the interior valleys numbers will jump up primarily in the 80s. we'll return to 90 degree heat

here sunday. with the hotter trend coming our way with numbers that could approach the century mark into monday. 6:00 a.m. on saturday. also sonoma county for the peninsula off the east bay. that good kind of weather. you can kind of sleep in on with saturday. then by the afternoon hours, we'll get a lot more sunshine than we had for today. it's going to be a much more spectacular afternoon. that's going to help those temperatures to warm up. we look like this in san jose. 79 in evergreen. not too hot for tomorrow. just in between. 82 in pleasantton. and 60s in san francisco. mid to upper 70s from napa to sow sonoma. sunday and monday interior valleys low to mid-90s. by monday we could be hinting at some mid to upper 90s on labor day. and just be forewarned.

if you're heading to the beaches, we have rip currents and rough seas possible. and once in a blue moon, it's possible and that is tonight. we're going to have a full moon, the second full moon in august. they call it a blue moon. it's nothing to do with the color of it. it's just the occurrence. >> it's the song. coming up, the reason your child may be struggling in scho school. the test they can take to solve the problem. you're on timeout leo! some things won't last 25 years. ah! woof! some things will.

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some things won't last 25 years. [ female announcer ] wells fargo. ah! woof! some things will. hard to believe but 15 years ago today princess diana and her boyfriend died in a car crash in paris. they crashed into a tunnel into the paris bridge. today in paris mourners took time to remember the peaceful princess. 15 years after the tragic accident, diana is still bloved around the world. she was 36 years old when she died. in health matters, getting your kids ready to go back to

school should include a comprehensive eye exam. 60% of children who have learning difficulties suffer from undiagnosed vision problems. parents are to manage complaints throughout the school year. back in a minute with the winning stories to send you into the weekend with a smile. [ laughter ] [ girl ] wow. you guys have it easy. i wish i had u-verse when i was your age. in my day, we didn't have these fancy wireless receivers. blah, blah, blah. if i had a sleepover, i couldn't just move the tv into the playroom.

no, we had to watch movies in the den because that's where the tv outlet was. and if dad was snoring on the couch, we muscled through it. is she for real? your generation has it made. [ male announcer ] the wireless receiver. only from at&t u-verse. get a free wireless receiver with a qualifying u-verse plan. rethink possible.

more than a month after the winning lottery numbers were drawn, a bay area couple stepped forward to claim their $52 million jackpot. they didn't know they hit the jackpot until a relative called to say they saw a picture of them on the news. he saw a photo of himself on the website. he immediately woke up his wife

to share the news. vladimir had been laid off his job recently. and she's a nurse assistant. they say they're going to keep their children nice and grounded and level headed. they do plan on buying a home. until now they've rebted an apartment. >> it is good to watch the news awhile. >> nice way to go into labor day. >> nightly news is next. we'll see you again at 6:00. >> bye-bye.